In its Second Year, Study Finds Accessing Content Continues to be the Dominant Activity; Tablet Advertising Driving Strong Purchase

New York, NY − June 18, 2012 − The Online Publishers Association (OPA) has released “A Portrait of Today’s Tablet User – Wave II,” a study unveiling a range of trends on the attitudes and behaviors of tablet users. Accessing content and information was found to be the dominant activity on the device (94%), followed by accessing the internet (67%) and checking email (66%). The study also revealed that tablet users’ primary content-related activities include: watching video (54%), getting weather information (49%), and accessing national news (37%) and entertainment content (36%).

The OPA collaborated with Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc. to conduct the study. Magid fielded a nationally-representative online survey of 2,540 people, ages 8 to 64 years old between March 19 and March 26, 2012. The survey found that current U.S. tablet adoption for internet users 8 to 64 years old is at 31% in 2012 (74MM tablet users), up from 12% in 2011 (28MM tablet users) and is expected to reach 47% (117MM tablet users) by Q2 2013.*

“The growing base of tablet users is also showing a healthy appetite for paid content with 61% having purchased tablet content in the past year,” said Pam Horan, President of the OPA. “Considering tablets have only been available for a little over two years, the findings of this study truly underscore the possibilities for publishers to grow their business as consumers are willing to open their wallets in order to have original content at their fingertips.”

“The survey also showcased great opportunities for advertisers as 38% of tablet users have made a purchase after having seen tablet advertising. We also found that tablet users purchased an average of $359 in products from the device in the past year,” noted Horan. “In addition to strong purchasing trends, 29% of tablet users also indicated that tablet advertising drives them to research products and 23% have clicked on an advertisement.”

Other key findings from “A Portrait of Today’s Tablet User – Wave II” include:

• Tablets have become embedded in users’ lives with 74% using the device daily and 60% using it several times a day;
• Tablet users spend an average of 13.9 hours per week with their tablets;
• 92% of video watched on the tablet is short form news and entertainment — which includes sports, weather, news and TV show clips — followed by 64% viewing user generated content (e.g. YouTube);
• Paid apps account for 23% of all tablet apps downloaded in the past year; and
• The tablet app market has doubled with an estimated $2.6B spent in 2012, up from $1.4B in 2011*.

“The survey also found that tablet users are increasingly becoming cross-platform consumers, with 32% of tablet users simultaneously using two screens for 3.1 hours per day and 29% simultaneously using three screens for 2.8 hours per day,” Horan noted. “The two and three screen audiences are also more likely to purchase a product after seeing tablet advertising, then the general tablet population, providing an incredible opportunity for cross-platform advertising campaigns.”

To download a copy of the study’s findings, click here.

About the OPA

Founded in June 2001, the Online Publishers Association is an industry trade organization whose mission is to advance the interests of high-quality online publishers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Members of OPA represent the standards in Internet publishing with respect to editorial quality and integrity, credibility and accountability. OPA’s membership has an unduplicated audience of 221.2 million unique visitors or 100% reach of the U.S. online population (comScore Media Metrix, January 2012). For more information, visit www.online-publishers.org.

Media Contact:
Emily Peck
kwittken + company
646.747.7149
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About Frank N Magid Associates, Inc.

Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc. is a leading research-based consulting firm that helps its clients become more profitable by solving problems and helping them take advantage of opportunities. We are unique because, for 54 years, we have carefully studied human behavior and how communication affects it. We possess an uncanny understanding of what and how marketing and communication will motivate people to behave in certain ways. This understanding provides us with a unique consumer lens through which we analyze and develop strategies

We use this expertise and perspective to help clients across industries develop and market products and services that successfully change or adapt to consumer attitudes, thereby influencing behavior in ways that lead to optimized financial performance. Clients include leaders in their respective industries, including Google, The Walt Disney Company, Verizon Wireless, Electronic Arts, Best Buy, General Mills, Nestlé, UnitedHealth Group, MetLife, Dr. Pepper/Snapple, and numerous others. Magid’s 150 professionals demonstrate extensive experience in media, marketing, communications, product development, market research, operations, investment strategy and strategy consulting. We work with clients around the world from offices in New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Dallas, San Francisco and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

* Source: Estimated U.S. internet population, ages 8-64, is derived from U.S. Census Bureau and eMarketer data.